2011 CFDA/VOGUE FASHION FUND FINALISTS

A.A.

Azzuolo was born in Montreal to Italian parents. After graduating from Ryerson University, the designer moved to Milan, where he won first place in the menswear category at the “Festival des Jeunes Stylistes de Hyeres.” From there, it was on to Paris, where Azzuolo honed his craft at Hermes and Kenzo. A move to New York in 2000 provided global and corporate experience at American institutions such as The Gap, Levi’s and Ralph Lauren. A.A., a bespoke collection, was launched in 2007, and has been featured in WWD, Vogue, GQ and other notable publications.

ALTUZARRA

Joseph Altuzarra was born and raised in Paris and attended college in Philadelphia, then headed to New York. After stints at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Altuzarra returned to Paris, to Givenchy, where he worked on the ready-to wear collections with a particular emphasis on tailoring. ALTUZARRA, based out of New York, provides practical and contemporary clothing for the modern professional woman.

CARLOS CAMPOS

Born in Honduras, Carlos Campos graduated from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. After creating costumes for Broadway productions such as “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Jersey Boys” and consulting for brands like Zara and Rock & Republic, Campos launched his eponymous line in 2007.The brand’s modern take on classic American style with a Latin influence helped earn him The Fashion Group International’s Rising Star award for Menswear in 2009.

CREATURES OF THE WIND

CREATURES OF THE WIND was founded in 2007 by Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters, both graduates of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where they studied fashion design, concept and theory. Their first collection appeared on the cover of WWD in June, 2008. COTW has since received critical press coverage from many other national and international media outlets, including Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Paper Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Marie Claire and Nylon.

CUSHNIE ET OCHS

CUSHNIE et OCHS is the collaboration of young designers Michelle Ochs and Carly Cushnie. Ochs, the 2007 Designer of the Year winner from the graduating class of Parsons The New School for Design, and Cushnie, the runner-up, formed their company in 2008 upon graduation. The designers sold their Spring 2009 women’s wear collection exclusively to Bergdorf Goodman, the same year they won the Ecco Domani Fashion Fund award.

FENTON FALLON

Designer Dana Lorenz created FENTON in 2006. After obtaining degrees in painting, Lorenz entered the fashion industry, working for Gucci and Donna Karan. Her switch to jewelry design started as a personal endeavor, but her pieces quickly developed a cult following, and Fenton was soon carried at top retailers worldwide, including Barneys, Colette,10 Corso Como and Liberty. FALLON, a lower-priced diffusion collection, was launched soon after. Lorenz was nominated for the 2010 CFDA Swarovski Accessory Designer of the Year Award.

FINN JEWELRY

FINN designer Soraya Silchenstedt was born to a Scandinavian father and an Indian mother: two distinct cultures that have influenced her design. She attended Parsons’ Summer Fashion Program and earned her degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology, concentrating on Illustration and Art History. It was during a job at an estate jewelry boutique, watching the jeweler repair valuable antique pieces, that her career designing fine jewelry was born. The company was founded in 2005.

OHNE TITEL

OHNE TITEL is a women’s collection designed by Flora Gill and Alexa Adams. The two met in 1999 while attending Parsons. After graduating, Adams spent several years at Helmut Lang, while Gill held a design position at Vivienne Tam. In 2005, they reunited to work for Karl Lagerfeld, founding their own line a year later. OHNE TITEL pairs architectural shapes and soft draping with a keen attention to fit and finish.

PAMELA LOVE

New York native Pamela Love received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her jewelry line draws inspiration from many of her favorite artists, including Hieronymous Bosch and Francesco Clemente. Love has collaborated with designers such as Marchesa,Yigal Azrouel and Zac Posen, has produced custom jewelry for HBO’s True Blood, and has worked with designer Rogan Gregory to develop the sustainable jewelry line ROGAN vs. LOVE. The designer is a CFDA nominee and the winner of the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation award.

SUNO

Max Osterweis first conceived of SUNO after witnessing post-election violence in Kenya. Utilizing the vast collection of Kenyan Kangas he had gathered over years of traveling, Max joined forces with Erin Beatty, a Parson’s graduate and designer for The Gap and Generra, to launch a high-end collection with a conscience. SUNO utilizes the local talent of each country it works with: developing beaded and embroidered styles in India, and Alpaca sweaters in Peru. The brand was launched in 2008.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue magazine have created an endowment to support the next generation of American fashion designers. With monies raised, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund has been established, the stated purpose of which is to generate sufficient income each year to fund significant financial awards to one or more designers and provide business mentoring. Award recipients are selected by a Committee of industry experts, based on the exceptional talent they have already demonstrated in fashion design and their capacity for future distinction in the fashion industry.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee annually selects three emerging fashion designer, who receive:
(1) business mentoring from an established team of fashion industry professionals, in areas such as business planning, marketing, sourcing, production, exporting, etc. and
(2) to encourage and enable the recipients to pursue his/her own independent design plan (one winner at $300,000 and two runners-up at $100,000 each).

TO BE ELIGIBLE, AN APPLICANT MUST:
• have an established, primary design business in the United States;
• be in business for a minimum of two consecutive years;
• be a designer of demonstrable talent: i.e., have garnered substantial and recent editorial coverage, and have support (i.e., orders) from key retailers;
• have professional staff (paid or volunteer) that can devote the time and effort required to accomplish the stated aims of an applicant’s design career plans;
• complete a preliminary application, which will include a 350-word biographical statement.

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color or national origin, sexual orientation, disability, age or sex.

APPLICATION PROCESS:
Phase 1
Fashion designers who contact the CFDA to request application materials for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund are sent a preliminary application, which requires the applicant to submit a 350-word biographical statement and affirm his/her eligibility. The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Selection Committee reviews all preliminary applications submitted by eligible candidates, and narrows the group to no more than one hundred (100) candidates, each of whom are invited to submit a formal application (Phase 2). Preliminary applicants who are not invited to continue to Phase 2 are notified, in writing, of the Selection Committee’s decision.

Phase 2
Each of the invited candidates are asked to provide specific information which outlines:
o his/her short-term and long-term business goals and objectives;
o how the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s financial award and business mentoring would encourage and enable the recipient to pursue his/her design career plans;
o his/her existing business, including:
• current organizational structure (employees/functions filled)
• consultants, outside advisors and professional firms that the candidate works with
• his/her current brand positioning, and where the candidate envisions his/her brand in the future
• Candidates are asked to submit a portfolio presentation containing work from their Spring and Fall collections, which may include sketches, photos, editorial photos, ads and/or videos.
• Candidates are asked to submit 3-5 references (editors, retailers and one other fashion industry professional with whom they have a close, working relationship) that the Selection Committee can contact for their comments and opinions.

At the conclusion of this part of the application process, the group is edited to ten (10) Finalists.

Phase 3
The ten (10) Finalists are interviewed by and make a presentation of five (5) looks from past, present, and upcoming collections to the Selection Committee. The interview includes an assessment of the business mentoring needs of each of the candidates.

Phase 4
The Selection Committee visits the design studios and meets with each of the ten (10) Finalists.

Phase 5
The Selection Committee determines one (1) award recipient (and possible runner/s-up) in October/November.

Upon completion of the award term, recipient(s) are asked to present a formal, final evaluation of the program.

PARTNER
J.Crew

UNDERWRITERS
American Express
Appleman Foundation
Barneys New York
Carolina Herrera, Ltd.
Coach
Liz Claiborne
L’oréal Paris
Lord & Taylor
Nordstrom
Starbucks
THECORNER.COM-Yoox Group
Theory
Tiffany & Co
Tommy Hilfiger
Vogue

2011 Finalists
A.A. – Antonio Azzuolo
ALTUZARRA – Joseph Altuzarra
CARLOS CAMPOS – Carlos Campos
CREATURES OF THE WIND – Shane Gabier & Chris Peters
CUSHNIE ET OCHS – Carly Cushnie & Michelle Ochs
FENTON/FALLON – Dana Lorenz
FINN JEWELRY – Soraya Silchenstedt
OHNE TITEL – Alexa Adams & Flora Gill
PAMELA LOVE JEWELRY – Pamela Love
SUNO – Erin Beatty & Max Osterweis

2010 Finalists
ALTUZARRA – Joseph Altuzarra
BILLY REID – Billy Reid – WINNER
CHRISTIAN COTA – Christian Cota
EDDIE BORGO – Eddie Borgo -RUNNER-UP
GREGORY PARKINSON – Gregory Parkinson
LODEN DAGER – Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow
MOSS LIPOW- Moss Lipow
PAMELA LOVE JEWELRY – Pamela Love
PRABAL GURUNG – Prabal Gurung – RUNNER-UP
ROBERT GELLER –Robert Geller

2009 Finalists
ALABAMA CHANIN – Natalie Chanin
ESQUIVEL SHOES – George Esquivel
GARY GRAHAM – Gary Graham
HOUSE OF WARIS – Waris Ahluwalia
MONIQUE PEAN – Monique Pean – RUNNER-UP
OHNE TITEL – Flora Gill and Alexa Adams
PATRIK ERVELL – Patrik Ervell – RUNNER-UP
SOPHIE THEALLET – Sophie Theallet — WINNER
SPURR – Simon Spurr
WAYNE – Wayne Lee

2008 Finalists
ALBERTUS QUARTUS – Albertus Q. Swanepoel – RUNNER-UP
ALEJANDRO INGELMO– Alejandro Ingelmo
ALEXANDER WANG – Alexander Wang – WINNER
IRENE NEUWIRTH – Irene Neuwirth
JASON WU – Jason Wu
JUAN CARLOS OBANDO – Juan Carlos Obando
OBEDIENT SONS & DAUGHTERS – Swaim & Christina Hutson
ORGANIC – John Patrick
RICHARD CHAI – Richard Chai
VENA CAVA – Lisa Mayock & Sophie Buhai – RUNNER-UP

2007 Finalists
ROGAN – Rogan Gregory – WINNER
3.1 PHILLIP LIM – Phillip Lim – RUNNER-UP
PHILIP CRANGI JEWELRY – Philip Crangi – RUNNER-UP
BAND OF OUTSIDERS – Scott Sternberg
ERIN FETHERSTON – Erin Fetherston
KOI DESIGN STUDIO – Koi Suwannagate
MICHAEL BASTIAN – Michael Bastian
THREEASFOUR – Ange Donhauser, Adi Gil, Gabe AsFour
VENA CAVA – Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai
VPL – Victoria Bartlett

2006 Finalists
DOO.RI – Doo-Ri Chung – WINNER
RODARTE – Kate and Laura Mulleavy – RUNNER-UP
THAKOON – Thakoon Panichgul – RUNNER-UP
3.1 PHILLIP LIM – Phillip Lim
COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA – Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra
DEVI KROELL – Devi Kroell
JOVOVICH-HAWK – Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk
MARCHESA – Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig
RAG & BONE – David Neville and Marcus Wainwright
SUBVERSIVE JEWELRY – Justin Giunta

2005 Finalists
TROVATA – Jeff Halmos, Josia Lamberto-Egan, Sam Shipley, John Whitledge – WINNER
DEREK LAM – Derek Lam – RUNNER-UP
THOM BROWNE NEW YORK – Thom Browne – RUNNER-UP
ANTHONY NAK – Nak Armstrong and Anthony Camargo
ATELIER JEAN YU – Jean Yu
COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA – Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra
ISABEL TOLEDO – Isabel Toledo
LUTZ & PATMOS – Tina Lutz and Marcia Patmos
MAYLE – Jane Mayle
PROJECT ALABAMA – Natalie Chanin

2004 Finalists
PROENZA SCHOULER – Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez – WINNER
CLOAK – Alexandre Plokhov – RUNNER-UP
HABITUAL – Michael and Nicole Colovos – RUNNER-UP
BEHNAZ SARAFPOUR – Behnaz Sarafpour
DEAN HARRIS – Dean Harris
DEREK LAM – Derek Lam
DOO.RI – Doo-Ri Chung
LIBERTINE – Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig
PETER SOM – Peter Som
EDMUNDO CASTILLO – Edmundo Castillo